Beware of Pepper Trees

It started with a damp patch and then the unmistakable hiss of water escaping where it shouldn't.  Nothing much to do about it on a Friday night except turn off the main stopcock and hope for the best. Şaban, our trusted Bodrum plumber, was with us by 9am the next morning despite the 40 km journey from his workshop.  A leak in the mains pipe was diagnosed and as this runs the length of our garden, Şaban, sidekick and hubby got down to some serious pruning to get at the pipe. By mid-afternoon the problem was solved, new pipes had been fitted and goodbyes were about to be said, when I remembered that our bath wasn't draining very well.  Four hours later, our courtyard looked like this!

The last time our pipes got blocked socks! were found in the pipe. (Yes, washing machines really do eat socks). This blockage was refusing to budge and as it got dark, work had to be postponed until Monday.
After much more digging and drilling, the cause of our problems emerged.

This is a root of a pepper tree. It had grown on top of our plastic waste pipe and slowly squashed it until nothing much was getting through. I knew that eucalyptus trees shouldn't be built near houses and now I know that neither should pepper trees.  I dread to think what they are doing to out foundations.  We've found a good plumber, now on the look out for a man with a chain saw.

Well recommended